Aerial imaging market size is estimated to be valued at over USD 2.64 billion by 2022, as per a new research report by Global Market Insights, Inc.

Increasing demand for this technology across various application areas is expected to drive aerial imaging market share over the forecast period. These systems are anticipated to offer efficient solution for various applications such as planning, route design, volume calculation, and map renovations.

The technique is mainly used for a variety of purposes such as geospatial technology, construction & development, research & conservation, as well as disaster management. Rising technological innovation in aerial platforms and camera systems is anticipated to drive aerial imaging market growth over the next few years. Advancements in technology such as airborne GPS, Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU), and Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) are projected to propel demand.

Personal Aerial Mapping System (PAMS) and Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) are likely to offer growth opportunities to the industry. In addition, budding camera technologies such as Hawk and Eagle by Microsoft and UltraCam Osprey along with the rising awareness towards aerial archeology is predicted to provide various new growth prospects over the forecast period. Advent of improved image data sources and various new applications along with rapid advancement in sensor technology is predicted to positively impact the aerial imaging market size till 2022.

Location based services along with remote sensing are now increasing their prominence across numerous applications associated with navigation, mapping, location-based mobile advertising, remote monitoring as well as emergency services. Aerial imaging and location-based services facilitates in production of comprehensive maps, cartograms and images of the desired locations and environs with optimal precision, facilitating faster decision making. This is turn is likely to fuel the aerial imaging market growth.

Advent of Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS) enables in eliminating risk to the aircraft operator while using it in lethal environments. It also helps in avoiding the risk involved during unfavorable climatic conditions. This is likely to help in executing recurring and explicit scans in extreme climatic conditions with the help of computer software or mobile application. However, manual systems do not possess the capability of executing such tasks.

Unmanned systems exhibit low operating costs in comparison to manned counterparts. According to Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems International (AUVSI), the direct operational cost involved in unmanned systems is around USD 3.36 per hour, while manned systems cost around USD 250 per hour to USD 600 per hour.

Key insights from the report include:

Asia Pacific aerial imaging market share is estimated to grow at a CAGR of 13.4% from 2015 to 2022. Existence of numerous semiconductor manufacturers across the region is expected to propel growth over the next seven years.

U.S. aerial imaging market size is expected to continue its dominance owing to rapid development of PAMS and UAVs. UAVs are anticipated to increase its significance due to its role in various areas that include strike missions, electronic attack (EA), communications relay on network node along with combat search & rescue (CSAR), and suppression or destruction of enemy air defense (SEAD). Europe is predicted to experience moderate growth over the forecast period.

Government application sector is anticipated to capture over 29% of the overall aerial imaging industry share by 2022. The growth in the sector can be attributed to escalating use of technology in numerous segments such as energy management, homeland security, monitoring environmental studies and urban planning. Surging government requirements regarding detailed and higher quality property map and tax data for maintaining cadastral records is predicted to fuel the industry.

Global Market Insights, Inc., headquartered in Delaware, U.S., is a global market research and consulting service provider; offering syndicated and custom research reports along with growth consulting services. Our business intelligence and industry research reports offer clients with penetrative insights and actionable market data specially designed and presented to aid strategic decision making. These exhaustive reports are designed via a proprietary research methodology and are available for key industries such as chemicals, advanced materials, technology, renewable energy and biotechnology.